And that's why they complain and insult Dumont television.
It's like complaining about a Ford Model T after looking at a 1959 Ford Thunderbird. You wouldn't have had the Thunderbird without the Model T coming first.
Dumont really worked hard at being the ground-breaker for what we all take for granted today... television.

Given all the alleged negatives the poster has presented, there is an answer as to why it was a hit. First, the show presented a story. A comprehensible story will carry a show even if the writers are "comic book" writers. You see, writers of comic books need to know how to write concrete stories. Second. Broadway actors? That means they are better actors than the rest. Third. Special effects are meaningless and are only relevant to the extent they help tell the story. Campy? The show was for children. Live television, yes it is. There is no one person involved with TV today with the knowledge to produce a show like this and make it work as these folks did.

Who'd a thought that a show with:
1. No props
2. No special effects
3. Sets that consist of painted walls
4. Scripts from comic book writers
5. Broadway actors
6. Commercials for candy-coated cereal
7. Stiff dialog
8. Clips from low budget westerns
Could of been a hit? And yet, it lasted for 6 years, and actually was watched by many people who later wrote for "Star Trek", not to mention many NASA employees. Campy? Yes. But without this show, there would never of been all the higher quality sci-fi of later years.
My verdict: Watch it as a campy sci-fi show, and it's OK.
EDIT: I didn't mean to be so negative. It's just that everytime I upload a DuMont program, people complain, so I was hoping that my list would stop people from complaining. I didn't mean to insult broadway actors or comic book writers.